Re: World Trade Center engineering

[Bernard Cleyet <anngeorg@PACBELL.NET>]

Any idea why "The New Yorker" ignored Fazlur Khan in their discussion of
tube design buildings?

bc

P.s. I haven't read it carefully, so I may be in error.  If not, here's
what they could have included:

http://www.uiuc.edu/providers/psames/fazlur.html

also:

(excerpt from a ZNet commentary of 30 09 2001 by Nikos Raptis)

"...............

Fazlur R. Khan, a civil engineer, was a native of Bangladesh (known also
as East Pakistan before Bangladesh). Khan is considered as one of the
greatest geniuses in the history of civil engineering. "Khan has come up
with innovation upon innovation that cut costs while simultaneously
pushing buildings higher." (Engineering News-Record, ENR, Feb 10, ''72,
p. 20.)

Khan's revolutionary structural design of a skyscraper is that the most
ECONOMICAL way to build a skyscraper is the one in which it is built
"with thin solid walls, like a TUBE... But we've got to live in it, so
we punch small holes in the tube for windows, getting approximately the
same structural effect," (the words in quotation marks belong to Khan
himself, ENR, Feb 10, '72, p. 23).

Khan was the "father" of the "tubular design" method for building
skyscrapers. Besides the WTC twin towers, Khan's method was used to
build the 1,136-ft-high Standard Oil Co. (Indiana) Building in Chicago,
the 1,450-ft-high Sears Tower and the 1,105-ft-high John Hancock
Building, both in Chicago. Another building that uses the Khan concept
is the 52-story One Shell Plaza (Data from ENR , Feb 10, '72, p. 21). We
assume that the later Southeast Asia skyscrapers also used the Khan
method.

"After completing his undergraduate work at the Bengal Engineering
College, where he graduated at the top of his class... (i)n 1952 he
qualified as a Fulbright scholar, and also won a scholarship from the
Pakistani government. As a result he enrolled at the University of
Illinois, Urbana, for three years..." (ENR, Feb 10, '72, p.25). Khan
developed his method of "tubular design" in the early ' 60s. One does
not exaggerate by saying that one man, Khan, single-handedly shaped the
high-rise buildings of the world, after the ' 60s, but also that he gave
them the capability to reach the present heights. Khan died quite young
and to honor him his bust was placed in front of one of the tallest
buildings in Chicago.

In July 1945 an American B-25 bomber crashed on the Empire State
Building. A few dozens of of people working at the floor that the
aircraft hit the building died, but the structure suffered only minor
damage. The Empire State Building had been built by the conventional
design method of beams and columns.

............."

Larry Cartwright wrote:

> Anyone with continued interest in the structural engineering of the
> World Trade Center towers and other "skyscrapers" might want to look at
> The New Yorker magazine's Nov 19, 2001 issue.
>
> John Seabrook's "The Tower Builder" takes a look at the WTC from
> conception to destruction, centered on the life and career of structural
> engineer Les Robertson.  Robertson is the surviving principal member of
> the team that designed and supervised construction of the WTC towers.  A
> good read, and also has interesting stuff about the engineering of tall
> buildings in general.
>
> Robertson:  "It's a tremendous responsibility, being an engineer.  It's
> a very imperfect process.  It's not so beautiful as science."
>
> The article is currently online at <http://www.newyorker.com/FACT/>.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Larry
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Larry Cartwright   <exit60@cablespeed.com>
> Retired (June 2001) Physics Teacher
> Charlotte MI 48813 USA
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> "Information is not knowledge,
>  knowledge is not wisdom,
>  and wisdom is not foresight.
>  Each grows out of the other
>  and we need them all."
>             (Arthur C. Clarke)
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~